As the coronavirus pandemic wore on, life expectancy in Missouri fell to the lowest it's been in four decades, according to the most recent data from the state Department of Health and Senior Services.

In Missouri, the average person born in 2021 could expect to live to be 74.6 years old, a whole three years younger than the average age ten years ago. The state's drop is part of a nationwide decline, though the life expectancy in Missouri is lower than the United States average.

Life expectancy, like infant mortality, is one of the major indicators of a population's overall health, said Lynelle Phillips, vice president of the Missouri Public Health Association. When the number goes down, it's a sign that people are sicker and aren't getting the health care they need.

"Looking at life expectancy is generally a first step," Phillips said. "But you want to drill deeper down into any health disparity issues, causes of death. How many of these deaths are preventable? How much of it has to do with health care access, living circumstances and poverty and everything that goes into quality of life?"

Officials from the health department point to COVID-19, an increase in homicides, and overdose deaths as reasons for the continued drop. Deaths also outpaced births for the second time in more than a century of data collection.

Cancer and heart disease were the most common causes of death. COVID-19 took the third-place spot and unintentional injuries  which include drug overdose deaths   was fourth.

moar

It's not just Missouri, it's worldwide.

"Coronavirus"

It's about $$$$$$$$$.

The vaccine killing young people kills that average.

Gimme Dollas Virus

The article is flawed because a person born in 2021 really wouldn’t have anything to fear with regards to COVID-19 because COVID-19s infection fatality rate for 2 year olds is statistically 0.

In 72.6 years when 2021 babies reach 74.6 years old, COVID-19 will be a total afterthought, just as the Spanish flu was within a decade or two after it ended.